Thursday, January 14, 2010

Dishes I'd Love to Make

Lo Bak Go- Chinese Turnip Cakes that are traditionally prepared with sea kittens( as dumbass PETA refers to them as.) ( shite, it's a taboo to mention that name, it has such negative and hypocritical connotations, it also tends to turn veg*ans into raging green monsters!) (typically, lo bak go uses shrimp and piggies :(. It's part of Dim Sum, which is popular in Southern China, and entails a whole lotta grub! Traditionally, small dishes that have about 3 items per container ( baus(buns), gaus(dumplings), cheong fans(rice noodles) compose Yum Cha-ing. It's sofa king fun! Everytime I visit my family in Chinatown, we go for a Yum Cha, nothing can rival the way food brings us together. But I've been reduced to fiddling with my chopsticks and watching them gorge on greasy treats since I went gluten free(everything is coated in soy sauce or has some seitan in it! :(. I no longer expand my transitional epithelium by downing cups of tea as if they were shots of mango juice since I don't consume caffeine either. I can really only eat steamed tofu and vegetables when I'm there :(. Everything that is enjoyable about Yum Cha-ing has diminshed to just the pleasure I derive from socializing with my family. Anyway, I would love to recreate vegan dim sum dishes and make them friendly to the gluten free palate! I dream of reuniting with lobakgo! I don't understand why many chinese restaurants don't include gluten free options, it's extremely easy to incorporate them. Wheat-Free tamari sauce differs slightly from soy sauce, but there is nothing complicated about substituting it for soy sauce, the flavour of the food is not ruined by its usage! I shall undertake chinese food and attempt to recreate some of my favorite dishes. Other dim sum dishes I'd love to make :
  • Congee (thick rice porridge that can be plain or seasoned with a variety of foods!)
  • Doufu Bau (a rice bun that is steamed and filled with vegetables or protein, in this case, I'm eager to experiment with some baked -spice tofu ;-)
  • Fu Pei Guen- Tofu skin rolls filled with vegetables
  • Jin Deui-SESAME BALLS. the kama sutra of fried foods. Fried balls coated in sesame and filled with red bean paste. Since I do not use sugar, I will have to figure out some other way to sweeten it, or make it savory!
  • Cheung Fan- Rice noodle rolls typically filled with protein or vegetables, but can be served plain with sauce to dip in!
  • Fried Doufu- I can never perfect it, but I do try to stay away from fried foods, but when the day comes for celebration, let the grease and oil flow from the heated cages!
Other dishes I'd love to make :

  • Stuffed Mushrooms
  • Raw Apple Pie
  • Cashew Cream
  • Pumpkin Mashed Potatoes
  • Butternut Squash Soup
  • Date Nut Bars
  • Baba Ghanoush
  • Falafel
  • Injera
  • Chutney
  • Lentil Loaf
  • Cannelli-Bean Garlic Dip
  • Chickpea pot pie
  • Braised Tempeh
  • Making homemade tofu!
More later, until I get on summer vacation, I'm afraid these may just be pipe dreams! I shall attempt to make one dish off my list every week!

Quinoa qraze



Satsuma baked tofu with baby bok choi, shimeji mushrooms, and quinoa~~~
Quinoa tempeh medley with peas, onions, carrots, paprika, pepper, salt, avocado, and tahini :! Tahini is my everything condiment that I slather over all organic matter :P
Butternut Stew with black beans, turnips, carrots, peas, onions, carrot, garlic, basil(FRESH yo), rosemary(double fresh!), and APPLES. say what?!?!great odin`s raven. This dish is like the kama sutra of tofu. the mere sight of its lustrous glaze is simply too arousing! Garlic peppercorn tamari tofu! *salivates*
*grumble grumble grumble* The stomach really runs the show, in order to keep the boss happy and sated I present to you marvelous creations. Unfortunately, the stomach is bigger than the eyes, and there never seems to be enough servings :P. OH I'll shut up, enjoy the food porn instead ^.^
Before the roasting!

after the roasting, they magically transformed into asian eggplants! :p

This was the meal I made for my Veggie Versary!!! Baked Tofu with a mushroom-orange gravy, roasted carrots, potatoes, onions, greenbeans, and eggplant!

Tomato Tempeh with organic greens :D
Tomato Tofu paired with a Chickpea Kale-cake!

dreams before the spring

Ah,what has the fortune of winter entailed, surely some discontent if I have found the time to mistreat my blog with ignorance! What a whirlwind of snow and ice it has been! I've nearly fused to the love seat with the company of my dear furry four legged swirl of pumpkin and coconut cream. I've done little more than swath myself in layers of varying synthetic textiles; keeping warm by the fragile words of Oscar Wilde that splash across my visual field and cause me to glow in fond amusement. The return to college town is looming over, the days dwindle down and the life of languid listlessness shall cease to exist in time! I've waited nearly a month to cure my ennui, perhaps what school encompasses shall be my remedy! Eager to visit my chummies, the prospect of having a bed is extremely exciting! Yes, until you've lived your days out on the couch, sacrificing your privacy and your REM cycles, you'd never regard the pseudo beds of plastic and springs with such open backs and bellies. Of course, you must make compromises, in trade for a bed, I must give up my precious gas stove. Without the flicker of the flame, the taste of the food is purely up to me, how can I owe flavor to that cruel electric stove. It makes my tofu stick and char, a committable offense in many respectable and sensible countries too! Alas, I shall have no leisure time for merry makings and experimenting. With 18.5 credits that include 2 science labs( but 3 science classes) and 2 Spanish conversation hours I will surely have to choose between sleeping, studying, and working. Perhaps now I will finally commit to a raw foods diet :P I'm actually considering finally starting up a club! ^.^ Originally I wanted to start a vegan club, of course I'm sure the school would prefer that I don't make it so exclusive and broaden it up to a vegetarian club. The dilemma for me is that while it would be in no way exclusive and open up to vegans, vegetarians, omnivores, and cannibals alike :P, that not consuming dairy products, eggs, and honey is not implicit by merely using "vegetarian." I don't want to sound like the vegan police tyrant now, but it is unacceptable for people to be using these items that are manufactured through outrageous, inhumane cruelty and exploitation. And stealing is bad, only steal from "the man" haha; but you wouldn't steal from a baby would you, and if you have, you immoral bastard! I'm not implying that vegetarians are not doing enough, and I'm certain that many of them are willing to flirt with veganism, the main vice holding them back is that dastardly cheese. We might need to do a cheese rehab for those casomorphin addicts. Now I'm all for opiate like effects, but only when it comes to endorphins ;-) Before I digress too much, I just would prefer to promote veganism, vegetarianism is a great start for transitioning, but you got to grow up sometime to become a vegan :P. Oh, before you get too offended, my sentiments are only in the jocular sense! There is tension between vegans and vegetarians, we are constantly concerned about offending the other with our moral convictions; we want to be compassionate and alleviate the suffering that our fellow-not so genetically different from us brethren and sistren must endure. At the same time, we never think we are doing enough! Vegetarians do deserve commendation, but will constantly be questioned about their dedication to the plight of the animals. ( I speak in that sense of those who were motivated by ethical reasons (then again, if you're one for health reasons, you've been ill informed if you continue to consume dairy products and eggs. and blah blah blah no one try to give out the moderation spiel, every one's lost their sense of moderation! and if you're one for environmental reasons, still, eschewing dairy, eggs, and honey will have an impact! )) In fact, be it ethical, environmental, or health, I just don't see the point of staying vegetarian unless it's in a transition stage, it is purely selfish reasoning to remain one. Oh goodness, I've lost the plot! I love all herbivores alike, I support anyone in their cruelty free endeavors, and will do whatever it takes to convert people ;-). Whatever. It. Takes. But really, I realize that it is important that we set our differences aside and unite in the cause, a vegetarian group would not sound so exclusive nor restrictive; it would be great for those who are looking for a fellow veg community and for those who have a desire for such a lifestyle but need some support. I want to offer that, after all, veg*anism is growing in popularity today, perhaps it may be a trend, and even if it's for superficial reasons, I can't say that it's a disadvantageous one. Hope that no one thinks of me as the token vegan prick after an entry like this haha. Oh yes, so I decided that my club would encompass a variety of lifestyles. I'm not fettered to the name, something along the lines of "alternative living". I want something fun, catchy, yet professional so that I don't feel embarrassed vocally saying a name like "The sunflowers". In it the ideas of healthy, holistic, whole-grain, organic healthy eating is emphasized, eco-friendliness and community responsibility(including volunteering making some sweet ass recycled goods!), all natural lifestyles, nutrition, etc and so many other ideologies! (Excited about trips to the farmer's market, health food store, animal shelter, homeless shelter, maybe a possible plot in the community gardens is misted all over my mind!) I must discuss it with my BFF, the dean*nervous chuckle*, in order to bring my dreams to fruition. It's just what this school needs, I've been developing it in my mind for the past year! :D